The present invention relates to an absorbent incontinence article, specifically for incontinent adults, with a main body portion consisting of a front region, a back region and a crotch region located between them in the longitudinal direction which is finally positioned between the legs of a wearer, wherein the main body portion comprises an absorbent core, and having material sections attached to the rear region and/or the front region which extend in the transverse or hip-encircling direction beyond lateral lengthwise edges of the main part and connect the front region and the rear region when the article is worn.
In the case of incontinence articles of this type, the material sections, particularly those attached only to the rear region, can be formed of another material than the main body portion or a component of the main body portion, for example a fluid-impermeable backsheet or a fluid-permeable topsheet. For example, the material section forming the side parts on the incontinence article, often described as “wings,” can breathe, in particular, can be configured to be air- and vapor-permeable, whereas the main body portion, often described as the chassis, can be configured to be fluid-impermeable, in particular, impermeable to moisture. To close the incontinence article, the material sections forming the lateral parts, preferably non-releasably attached to the rear region, are wrapped across the torso of the wearer and releasably connected to the main body portion, preferably to the outside of the front region of the garment-facing main body portion. Mechanical or adhesive closures on the lateral parts of the incontinence article are frequently used, which act in concert with similarly configured landing zones in the front region of the main body portion.
EP 1 269 949 A2 does not show an incontinence article in which the side parts projecting from a back region are fastened to a front region; rather it shows a T-shaped diaper in which the side parts projecting from the back region are connected to each other to form an opening for the hips which is completely closed in the circumferential direction. The lateral parts projecting laterally from the back region to form the hip belt are folded over each other in a Z-shape and are only temporarily attached to each other in this configuration, only during manufacture of the article within the machine.
Taking an absorbent incontinence article of the type initially described as the starting point which has relatively wide material sections attached to the main body portion, it would be desirable to improve the handling of these material sections during production in a high-speed machine and to make handling the incontinence article as user-friendly as possible when it is employed by the wearer or by care-givers.